Topic: IPOs
Snapchat Is Justifying Its $20 Billion Valuation by Emphasizing User Engagement – Bloomberg (Jan 20, 2017)
This is in some ways part of the same story we heard a while back about Snap positioning itself as another Facebook rather than another Twitter. Facebook is all about engagement, providing numbers on not just monthly but daily active users, and talking up time spent as well. Though Twitter briefly dabbled with metrics like timeline views as an indicator of engagement, it quickly abandoned that metric and has steadfastly refused to provide daily active user numbers, focusing instead on MAUs and directional rather than absolute measures of engagement. Snap clearly wants to avoid those associations with Twitter and so has provided to investors data on engagement across several dimensions, which will hopefully be made available in its S-1 filing when that’s made public too. A key part of the Snapchat value proposition is that its users spend a lot of time on the service, so proving that to investors will be critical.
via Snapchat Is Justifying Its $20 Billion Valuation by Emphasizing User Engagement – Bloomberg
Can Snapchat’s Culture of Secrecy Survive an IPO? – Bloomberg (Jan 17, 2017)
It’s an interesting change to see a story like this written about a company other than Apple, which is usually the focus of articles about obsessive secrecy. Snap is of course a private company at this point, and so has had to share very little about its business with very few people, but that will all change with its IPO, so it’s going to have to get better at divulging at least some things to its investors. On the other hand, I always feel like the media likes stories about how secrecy makes things harder for companies – perhaps because it makes things harder for reporters – and yet there’s very little evidence to back up the claim. Some of the best companies are the best at keeping secrets about their products, precisely because they want to control the narrative when the products are ready for release, rather than have others write the narrative for them based on leaks and rumors.
via Can Snapchat’s Culture of Secrecy Survive an IPO? – Bloomberg
Snap’s IPO Roadshow Message: We’re the Next Facebook, Not the Next Twitter – WSJ (Dec 29, 2016)
One of the most interesting questions Snap has to answer as it approaches a possible IPO is which company will serve as a better benchmark for its potential – Twitter or Facebook. Part of making the pitch for the latter is demonstrating that Snap is more than just a messaging app, which means focusing on its content offerings and partnerships and the potential ad revenue they might drive. Snap’s recent rebranding and launch of Spectacles are all part of a significant evolution of the company and its identity.
via Snap’s IPO Roadshow Message: We’re the Next Facebook, Not the Next Twitter – WSJ